Kickoff Classic

The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002.

History

In 1978, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates and schedules events at Giants Stadium, decided to host an end-of-season bowl game, called the Garden State Bowl. There were four such bowl games held, but attendance was lower than hoped by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) due to December weather and less attractive teams.Fact|date=August 2007 Consequently, NJSEA decided to host a "bowl" game in the beginning of the season instead. This would attract more popular teams and ensure better attendance due to more favorable weather conditions.

The first contest, held on August 29, 1983, was the first regular-season college football game to be played in the month of August. The game featured the defending national champions the Penn State Nittany Lions and the pre-season Number 1 ranked team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The game was carried that first season by a number of TV stations across the country via sydnication, including WKBS-TV, Channel 48 in Philadelphia. (It was the Kickoff Classic's first game, but WKBS' last: the station signed off for the final time immediately after the contest.)

Eventually there would be twenty Kickoff Classics, many of which were carried by ABC Sports nationally. Rule changes by the NCAA regarding season opening 'extra games' brought an end to the series, as well as a similar game, the west coast-based Pigskin Classic.

Results

Source: New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority.